We recommend blood tests be conducted and lab work done as a proactive measure during an annual routine exam, even if your dog seems perfectly healthy. This is because the sooner we catch health issues, the more effectively we can treat them, preserve your dog’s health, save valuable time, and potentially treat or prevent painful symptoms.

Blood tests are an important diagnostic tool and what the results of some common blood tests can show us about your animal’s health. When done as part of preventive care, blood tests give us an indication of the earliest signs of illness before any outward symptoms appear. They can help to detect, identify, diagnose, or even treat disease or illness.

Blood tests for dogs with diarrhea, vomiting, unexplained weight loss, and other symptoms play an essential role in helping your vet determine the cause of your dog's symptoms. When we detect diseases early, prevention and treatment can be administered earlier.

Healthy pets also need blood tests during routine exams to obtain normal baseline values to compare to later, and as your pet ages.

Neglecting annual professional cleaning could put your pet at risk of developing gingivitis, periodontal disease, bad breath, and in severe cases pain, tooth decay, and tooth loss.

Tooth decay and gum disease are as much of a problem for pets as they are for people. That's why caring for your dog’s and cat’s teeth is an important element of caring for your dog's overall health.

Neglecting annual professional cleaning could put your dog at risk of developing gingivitis, periodontal disease, bad breath, and in severe cases pain, tooth decay, and tooth loss.

We conduct at-home oral health exams and evaluations; however no dental care is conducted in the home. All dental care is done at Granville Veterinary Clinic.

At-home oral health care routines paired with dental treats can go a long way to helping your pets keep their teeth clean and control the buildup of plaque and tartar.

To help prevent your dog from developing tooth decay and periodontal disease, we recommend a dental appointment at least once each year, or more frequently if they are suffering from more severe or recurring dental problems.

Offering veterinary minor surgical options, including spaying, neutering, and removal of benign growths on skin.

We will examine your pet and based on their problems, also recommend diagnostic tests. We will also review possible procedures, risks and expected outcomes with you.

Cat bite abscess? Stinky ears? Rashes or itchy pet? No problem. Medical appointments such as eye exams, ear exams, dermatology exams, cases of vomiting/diarrhea, lameness/limping issues can all be evaluated in the home just as they are in a brick-and-mortar clinic. If your pet is ill, it is often hard to get them into a clinic for evaluation. Having a vet come to the home can expedite treatment and ease the stress on an already ill or injured animal, allowing it to rest and heal faster.

Vaccines help to protect your pet from certain viral and bacterial diseases by safely stimulating the immune system and training it to recognize and fight infections.

Because they protect your dog or cat against these diseases, vaccines are an important part of keeping your pet happy and healthy. We will discuss with you which vaccines are right for your pet.

Vaccines can be classified as either “core” or “non-core.” Core means that it’s recommended for all pets, with only rare exceptions. Non-core vaccines, on the other hand, are only recommended for some pets, based on lifestyle and risk.

Microchipping your dog or cat is a safeguard against them getting irretrievably lost. Having your pet microchipped significantly increases their chances of coming home. A microchip is a tiny device, no bigger than a grain of rice, that emits a unique identification code when scanned by a microchip scanner. The microchip under the skin between the shoulder blades. The code it emits corresponds with your contact information in the microchip company’s online database.

Parasites are pests — such as worms, fleas, ticks, and microscopic critters — that can live inside or outside of your pet’s body.

Some parasites flourish year-round, so parasite prevention and control is a very important part of keeping your pet healthy and happy. Here are the most common parasites we treat and prevent:

Fleas
Fleas are dangerous to your pet because flea bites are extremely itchy and cause discomfort for your pet as well as allergic reactions in some animals. Year round prevention may be necessary for your pet even if they are indoor only animals.

Heartworms
Heatworms can infect your dog or cat’s heart, cause damage and even be fatal.

Treatment in dogs is expensive, and carries risk and, there’s no treatment available for cat’s so, prevention is very important. If you are traveling outside of Alberta or Saskatchewan with your pet Heart worm prevention is likely indicated.

We recommend testing for heartworm disease if they are traveling a lot — which is done via a simple blood test — at regular intervals, even if your pet is on prevention. We can recommend several safe, effective products that can protect your furry best friend.

Intestinal parasites
This category of parasites includes worms — such as hookworms, whipworms, tapeworms, and others — as well as microscopic parasites like Giardia, Coccidia, and other protozoal organisms.

These parasites can lead to:

• Weight loss

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Anemia, malnutrition, and other health problems

• In puppies and kittens, worms can cause stunted growth, or even death in severe cases

Skin and Ear mites
These microscopic parasites can make your pet very itchy, and lead to bacterial or yeast infections of the skin. If your pet has a skin infection, a routine check for mites may be necessary to be sure they aren’t part of the cause.

Ear mites can cause ears to be itchy, red and painful. They are also transmissible to other pets in the home. Ear mites can lead to excessive head shaking which can cause further complications such as oral hematomas.

If your pets’ nails are getting a little too sharp, we can help.

This service helps to prevent nail overgrowth, and aids in preventing scratches to both furniture and people.

Dog’s should have their nails trimmed regularly. Underneath the hard outer shell of a dog’s nail is the living quick, which is full of nerves and blood. Regular nail trimming will cause the quick to become shorter and recede from the end of the nail, making it less likely to be cut during nail trims.

For cat’s keeping cat’s nails trimmed regularly prevents painful broken claws. Trimmed nails prevent furniture, rugs, curtains, and other household items being destroyed.

Most dogs involuntarily express their anal glands. If a dog’s nutritional needs are being met with high-quality food, and they maintain a healthy weight and get plenty of exercise, they should not need to have their anal glands expressed.

Some dogs, however, require their glands to be manually expressed. If the consistency of your dog’s stool changes, their anal glands will not be naturally expressed. Then the liquid in the glands will thicken, making it harder to be able to express. If this happens, the glands can become irritated, inflamed, infected, and even impacted

Your dog’s anal glands can be expressed by your veterinarian, a veterinary technician, or even some dog groomers.

Is your dog stressed in a clinic? Does your cat come home from the vet and attack his/her friends? Is the vehicle ride to the vet a nightmare due to severe car anxiety? These are all common behaviour challenges that can be resolved by having the vet come to you. As well, when a veterinarian comes to the home it allows them to observe their patients in their natural environment so can give them a bit more information on how to address many medical problems as well as behavioural problems that are creating a challenge for the caretakers like inappropriate urination or scratching behaviours that sometimes arise in our feline friends.